Do You Have A Little Time?
by chewing-on-tinfoil
Summary: And you thought you had troubles...
1. Chapter 1

"Lieutenant Cavanaugh! Lieutenant, where the hell are you!"

Holly could hear someone calling her name, but she had no idea where she was. Where there had once been light in the ship was darkness. Completely desolate darkness. There was a certain eerieness to it, and it had blanketed Holly and her team in a matter of nanoseconds. "Major Lorne!" she called out to the empty void. "I'm here!"

She could hear scuffling feet on the floor, and spun around toward the sound. Raising her gun at the same time, she placed her finger on the trigger. She was ready to shoot. It was then that the lights suddenly came back on and, much to the woman's relief, Major Lorne was standing in front of her, although in the same position. Had they been scared enough, they probably would have killed each other.

"Did you find them?" Holly asked almost immediately, her long blonde hair falling messily into her face. Lorne was pale, and clearly taken aback. "Major, have you found them?"

"Negative," he answered with a heavy sigh.

Holly's face went blank, and she appeared disappointed. "We'll find them, Lorne," she told him, the smile on her face obviously forced. It sounded like she was only trying to reassure herself, not him.

Lorne sighed again and nodded. He tapped the side of the communication unit connected to his ear. "SGA-2, abort the mission and head back to the jumper. We're going back to Atlantis. Lorne out." When he had finished the message, the man placed a hand on Holly's shoulder. "You're right, Lieutenant. We'll find them."

He was only trying to make her feel better. She knew that.

It only took the puddle jumper about a half hour to reach the city once more. Lorne flew it expertly down into the jumper bay, making a minor adjustment here and there when he went to land it, and once they had reached the ground and shut things down, the hatch was opened. The other half of the SGA-2 team, two men who appeared quite antisocial most of the time, were off in an instant. Holly stayed in the co-pilot's seat as Lorne stood.

"Lieutenant?"

Holly's blue eyes looked up to him. She had a defeated look on her face, which was not normal for her. The happy, bright, always-the-optimist Holly Cavanaugh was giving up. "Yes, Major?"

Lorne had never been good at the heart-to-heart things. He, like many other men in general, avoided topics that dealt with feelings. He hesitantly pat her on the shoulder. "We'll find them. It might take time, but we'll find them." He managed a small smile, but Holly merely nodded. He turned and left out the jumper hatch, leaving Holly in her misery.

She emerged moments later and headed down to the infirmary for a quick check-up. Dr. Carson Beckett and his assistant were patiently waiting her arrival. "Where are the others?" she asked when she got there.

"They left," answered Beckett's assistant, Dr. Marino. "Ten minutes ago."

"Oh," Holly replied with an uneasy smile. She hadn't realized how long she had been sitting in the puddle jumper before. Hopping up on the bed, the physical commenced, but Holly's mind clearly wasn't there. She was thinking about other things, and although Dr. Marino knew nothing, Dr. Beckett had an idea of what was going on.

When they had finished her exam, he looked at Dr. Marino. "Eva, love, could yeh make sure I put Major Lorne's files away in the proper spot?" Dr. Marino glanced at Holly, then Beckett again. He nodded, and she headed into his office. "A'right, Lieutenant. Talk t'me."

"About what?" the blonde woman asked with a blank expression.

"Dun gimme that," Beckett replied, pointing a finger accusingly at her. The Scottish doctor knew her better than she knew herself when it came to such matters. It was plain to see, at least plain to anyone with two eyes and a bit of common sense. "Ah know how yer feelin' right now. 'Bout the colonel 'n all."

Holly's face flushed and she opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out.

Beckett grinned a bit, but looked like he was sympathizing. "Holly, matters o' the heart can be dangerous, 'specially when it comes t' things like this." He paused and sighed, placing a hand on her arm. "He's yer commandin' officer," he began.

"Carson, I know," Holly snapped, rubbing her eyes. "Look, the last thing I want -- or need -- is a lecture right now. So, if you please, just clear me? Am I healthy or not?" Her eyes were weary, and she looked awfully thin. She probably hadn't eaten or slept much in days, judging by the looks of her grim appearance.

"If by 'healthy' yeh mean 'not dead or infected by some disease,' then aye. Yer healthy. But Ahm not clearing yeh fer anymore missions, Holly. Yeh need somethin' t' eat, and yeh need some sleep. Maybe in a few days Ah'll decide t' let yeh back out there again."

"No! Carson!" Holly's eyes filled with water. "You can't! Please! I can't be off the missions roster! What the hell am I going to do in the meantime, huh? Please, Carson!" she pleaded, frowning heavily when he shook his head. He appeared to feel bad about the decision, but all Holly could see was a heartless doctor trying to torment her.

Carson Beckett sighed heavily. "Ahm sorry, love, but it's for yer own good. Get some rest and eat something; yeh look dreadful." He forced a small smile, trying to cheer her up, even though he knew better. "They'll find 'im, with or without yeh. Just have a li'l bit of faith, and get back to yer old self. They'll be back soon."

Still looking thoroughly upset, Holly hopped off the bed and sighed heavily. "I know," she told him. It was true; she knew it was only a matter of time before they found Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried. "It's just, you know, I miss -- them." She had hesitated momentarily, and Beckett knew what she was going to say, even if he didn't say so now.

His communication unit sprung to life and he jumped a bit, hearing a woman's voice on the other end. "Yes, Elizabeth. Ah'll be right there." He turned to look at Holly with a look of concern. "The Stargate was dialed from another world -- Dr. McKay is back on Atlantis. Ah need t' get down there."

"Wait! I'm coming!" Holly called as the doctor headed toward the door.

Carson spun around and placed a finger at her, pointing in a rather rude way. "No, Lieutenant," he told her sternly. "Ah didn't clear yeh fer duty, and Ah won't have yeh gettin' in the way. Ah said Dr. McKay was back, not the colonel. Go get some rest." Holly opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head and interrupted before she could speak. "Get some rest, Holly."

She frowned and watched the Scottish doctor leave, a look of pure disappointment on her face. She exhaled heavily and knew that she had to do as he had told her, but that didn't mean she was going to like it. "Yeah," she mumbled under her breath, running a hand through her long blonde locks. She sighed and headed out toward her room to get much needed rest.

But that didn't mean that rest would come easily.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three days since Holly last had seen Carson, or just about anyone, for that matter. She had been focusing on getting herself back up to healthy, by Carson's standards. She had gained a few pounds, due to forcing herself to eat, though she still hadn't been getting as much sleep as Carson would have liked. Holly knew that. Still, she was trying her very best, and she was worrying more and more as each day passed. Colonel John Sheppard was still missing. She had one guess.

The Wraith.

A few weeks earlier, a few people had headed out on a team with John to a planet recently culled by the Wraith. He had chosen to take Teyla, Ronon, Holly, and Dr. Lance Warren, a new scientist that had recently joined Atlantis. Unfortunately, while they had been searching for any survivors, a few Wraith had stumbled upon them and attacked. A fight ensued, but after one of the Wraith was injured badly, with the other two injured enough to get them to back away. One, who was far more creepy than the other, had spoken harshly to the team: "I could kill you where you stand, _Colonel_, but your time has not yet come; however, we will have our way, one way or another."

Holly hadn't paid much attention to the warning before; it wasn't like the officers on Atlantis hadn't been threatened before by their enemies. But now, it seemed so real. She was fearing the worst. What if, while SGA-1 had been off on their most recent mission, the Wraith they battled had managed to take John away? What if that wasn't an empty threat, but a promise that the Wraith had made? She had been having trouble getting a grip ever since then. John needed to get back.

She arrived in the infirmary, timidly standing near the doorway as Dr. Marino examined a few charts. She didn't notice Holly at first, so the blonde lieutenant simply watched her. Marino was average height, probably around five six; she had long black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a complexion to die for. It made Holly a little jealous, really, that she wasn't that pretty. But then women are always comparing themselves to other women, are they not? It took a few moments for Eva Marino to realize she was being watched.

"Lieutenant Cavanaugh!" Marino spoke, clearly startled when she saw Holly standing in the door. "What are you doing here?" she asked, then paused. "I mean, are you here to see Carson? I thought he gave you the thumbs-up?"

Holly shrugged a bit and sighed, slowly walking further into the infirmary. It had a cold, lifeless feel to it; that was probably the reason she never enjoyed being there. Well, that and being injured didn't exactly make one feel well. "He said I was healthy to the extent of not being diseased." When the physician's assistant gave her a funny look, she took a deep breath and continued. "He said I needed to get more food and more rest. Which I did, and I came back to get cleared for the missions roster again."

"You military types," Marino said under her breath, shaking her head. She looked at Holly and raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait for him."

"But you have the same power when it comes to stuff like this," Holly tried reasoning. "I mean, you could perform a quick exam and clear me for duty. Am I right?" The doctor gave her a bemused look, and Holly took a deep breath. "Dr. Marino, what would be wrong about that? Seriously? I just want to be cleared for duty, I'm not asking you to fake a report or anything."

"Take it up with Carson Beckett," Marino ordered her. "I'm not clearing you for duty. Carson took you off the roster, he has the power to put you back on. I'm not about to do something to somehow undermine his authority, Lieutenant. I don't think it wise for you to ask me to do such a thing, either. Have a seat. He's currently attending to a patient recently discharged from the infirmary."

Dr. Marino started to walk away when Holly opened her mouth. "It's McKay, right?" The doctor stopped and turned to look at her. "He's okay, then?"

"Healthy as a horse," Marino said with little enthusiasm. "But, sweetie, there's no point in asking him about Colonel Sheppard. We've already tried, and up until Rodney showed up here, he couldn't remember a damn thing that happened to him. He had a panic attack down in the gateroom because he didn't know how he'd ended up there."

"What does he remember?"

Marino looked annoyed. "Lieutenant Cavanaugh, you need to understand something: you are neither the military leader nor are you Dr. Weir, so I really don't have to answer. I'm a civilian, and you can't order me to, either." She paused, and took a deep breath. "It's not that I don't want to; it's just that things like this are delicate matters. You need to give it time, I'm sure the Colonel will show up sooner or later. Major Lorne has been taking teams out, day and night, to find him."

There was a moment of silence, during which Holly soaked all of this information up. After a moment, her gaze met the doctor's again, and she spoke. "Dr. Marino, I have one more question. Answer it for me and I will leave you alone. Please. Just answer it for me."

Marino thought about this for a moment; all she had to do was answer one simple question and she could get the lieutenant out of her hair. This appealed to her. "All right. What's your question?"

"From what McKay knows, and from what you may or may not be able to assume, what's happened?"

There was yet another short period of silence. Marino wasn't counting on a question like this, but then she had promised to answer it for Holly, and she did want the blonde to leave her alone. "Well," she began, thinking over her answer carefully. "We really don't know that much. What we do know, however, is that while off on a mission, SGA-1 got separated. Ronon and Teyla from the colonel and Rodney. Colonel Sheppard tried getting everyone back together when he and Rodney were attacked."

"By what?"

"We don't know, and that also exceeds your limit on questions." Marino took a deep breath and shrugged a bit. "Just have a little bit of faith, Lieutenant. He's going to come back, because if he was taken by the same thing or the same person that Rodney was taken by, then he will be back. The same way Rodney came."

"And what if this thing's MO changes? What then?"

Marino shrugged. "I don't really know, Lieutenant." She started to walk away, then stopped and turned to look at Holly. "Carson should be back soon. You can wait here, if you'd like."

"I would, thanks."


End file.
